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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Monday Morning Open Thread: Everybody Knows Norm’s Name

Monday Morning Open Thread: Everybody Knows Norm’s Name

by Anne Laurie|  August 19, 20135:11 am| 107 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Excellent Links, Open Threads

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norm lopez

Because I am no stranger to the Black Dog, I try to greet the early morning crowd with something that, if not actually happy, at least isn’t liable to inspire meditation upon old tv theme music. Some days this is really not an easy search, so I’m grateful to commentor Trollhattan for the news that Norm Lopez is safe at home, per the Sacramento Bee:

Norm Lopez has a fervent, almost cult-like following in certain Sacramento communities: local bands have put him on their T-shirts, commuters exit the light rail at the 13th Street stop just to say hello and his Facebook page (as of Tuesday evening) is nearing 500 friends. His popularity sky-rocketed following a heart-warming reunion between Norm and his human, Tyler Lopez earlier this week. On Friday, a stranger mistook Norm for a pregnant cat in distress and took him to the Front Street Animal Shelter where staff recognized him from his Facebook page. Norm now has an identification chip and will be hosting a pub crawl to benefit the shelter on Aug. 31, 2013…

More detail (and photos) at the link. (Also: FYWP that I couldn’t link this in the title.) Good on you for giving back, Norm, and ignore the fat-shaming haterz!

Apart from being grateful for our animal companions, what’s on the agenda for the start of another week?

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Next Post: Keep Those Doggies Trollin’ »

Reader Interactions

107Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    August 19, 2013 at 5:13 am

    Unproductive weekend means long work week for me.

  2. 2.

    Linda Featheringill

    August 19, 2013 at 5:28 am

    The daughter unit starts to school at Temple University in Engineering a week from today, paid for by VA rehab. They [VA] have signed a contract for the full 4 to 5 years.

    It’s a remarkable opportunity for a second chance. Daughter is middle aged and likely won’t get another such opportunity.

    Anyway, we spent all our spare change on a rail pass for transportation and a laptop. Now we’ll work on clothes.

    It’s hard to find slacks that are comfortable and fit her well, at any price. We took an old pair of slacks that she liked and took them apart to use as a pattern. I’m working on the first pair now. I haven’t sewn pants for a loooong time. Oy.

    And that will probably keep me out of trouble for this next week.

  3. 3.

    Ben Cisco

    August 19, 2013 at 5:37 am

    More new employees means more hardware rollouts, and the company has been on a tear this summer.

    Coming off another weekend of babysitting LittleMan (6 years) and TinyDancer (6 months). Love the kids and the time spent; hate that it makes me feel 175 years old afterward.

  4. 4.

    PurpleGirl

    August 19, 2013 at 5:50 am

    @Linda Featheringill: I wish your daughter well in school and success as an engineer. The pants problem… no solution, I’ve got that problem myself.

  5. 5.

    PurpleGirl

    August 19, 2013 at 5:51 am

    The human behind one of the kitten cams I follow promises a surprise today at around noon, 12:30-ish. Will have to be home to see who the surprise is.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    August 19, 2013 at 5:53 am

    reunion between Norm and his human

    Ick.

    Cutesy-poo enough to require insulin.

    Also too, as with so many other things, the hummable, sing-alongable TV show theme song is a nearly dead artform.

  7. 7.

    PurpleGirl

    August 19, 2013 at 5:57 am

    Norm is adorable. Love his color. Rescue cats are the greatest.

  8. 8.

    Linda Featheringill

    August 19, 2013 at 6:00 am

    @PurpleGirl:

    Thanks.

    I have learned that you can sew your own t shirts. We found a source of moderately priced knit cloth that “falls away from the body.” I’ve done a couple and they look nice. About 20.00 each in cost.

  9. 9.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    August 19, 2013 at 6:11 am

    @Linda Featheringill: And that cloth source would be? *salivates*

    @Yatsuno from an earlier thread: Thanks for the heads up on Alan. I have to admit that I expected him to be the first to go, but it’s still too damned soon.

  10. 10.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 6:20 am

    @Linda Featheringill: I started school on the GI bill in 1969. I graduated in 78 (that was after I broke my back in a car wreck and combined my VA bennies with DVR help) , got my masters in 86 and doctorate in 2000. I’t great that she’s doing this! I’m not familiar with her situation, was she wounded?

  11. 11.

    Linda Featheringill

    August 19, 2013 at 6:23 am

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:

    http://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/home.php

    Service is good, too.

    They also offer matching thread.

    Enjoy!

  12. 12.

    geg6

    August 19, 2013 at 6:23 am

    It’s move in week on campus, so I will have a crazed week. Athletes move in today and tomorrow, internationals and out-of-staters Wednesday, rest of freshmen Thursday, and upper class men on Friday. All arrangements for their bills must be in place before they can move in. Which means they must see me, or at least most of them will. Not looking forward to it.

    And in regard to the last post by Cole, I just can’t get excited over this NSA stuff. It doesn’t and probably never will affect me. I find it much more frightening that Amazon and Google and pretty much any online vendor actually DOES access my personal information and use it in ways I don’t know about and haven’t approved. And if it’s true that Greenwald’s husband or whatever was carrying unauthorized classified information that Snowden stole, then he got what was coming to him. That’s the risk he took.

  13. 13.

    Linda Featheringill

    August 19, 2013 at 6:26 am

    @raven:

    She carries a small constellation of disabilities but no bullet holes. Fortunately.

  14. 14.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 6:28 am

    @Linda Featheringill: Ah, well I hope she’s getting the support she needs from the VA.

  15. 15.

    geg6

    August 19, 2013 at 6:29 am

    Last thought, what do Cole and all his hysterical libertarian buddies propose we do about all this? Congress will have to be the body to change it. So how does that happen? And if Obama is such a villian, who will be better, Rand Paul FFS?

  16. 16.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 6:30 am

    @geg6: UGA is in it’s second week already and, as much as I’ve seen if for all these years, it’s jolting when they come back after the summer.

  17. 17.

    JPL

    August 19, 2013 at 6:38 am

    @geg6: Julian Assange thinks Paul is a great leader. Of course, he thinks Drudge is a great news source. I skipped the one who must not be mentioned threads, because life is to short.

  18. 18.

    MomSense

    August 19, 2013 at 7:01 am

    @Linda Featheringill:

    Will send good thoughts to your daughter for this new challenge/opportunity.

    Ah, the pants problem–makes me want to give them up all together.

    Long legs, short torso mean that to get the length right the waistband goes up to the underarms. Seems like I finally find some that fit and they stop making them.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    August 19, 2013 at 7:10 am

    @raven

    hey, raven.

    Heads-up on 2 older fishing shorts this week on TCM:

    Monday, 7:44 p.m. (1957, 8 minutes) : “Salar The Leaper” – Atlantic salmon fly fishing.

    Wednesday, 9:20 a.m. (1951, 10 minutes): “Fishing Feats” – various fishing footage

  20. 20.

    PurpleGirl

    August 19, 2013 at 7:14 am

    @MomSense: Pants problem — Yes, I have a junior length torso and longer legs. Pants have always been a problem; yes, you finally find some that fit and they go away after a while. Just because you gain weight in one direction doesn’t mean your basic bone structure changes.

    T-shirt style (in whatever fabric) lengths aren’t a problem because I like them a bit longer.

  21. 21.

    NotMax

    August 19, 2013 at 7:14 am

    @NotMax

    Neglected to mention that all the times are Eastern.

  22. 22.

    brantl

    August 19, 2013 at 7:30 am

    In all fainness, he looks like a pregnant cat in distress.

  23. 23.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    August 19, 2013 at 7:31 am

    @PurpleGirl: Pure pear-shape here. Plus-sized women’s pants assume an apple shape. There’s no other explanation for the horrifically long crotch length.

    I’ve pretty much given up on pockets in my store-bought pants and routinely reset the waistband to be as much as three inches lower before adding multiple darts.

  24. 24.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 7:32 am

    @NotMax: oooo

  25. 25.

    debbie

    August 19, 2013 at 7:34 am

    @geg6:

    I find it much more frightening that Amazon and Google and pretty much any online vendor actually DOES access my personal information and use it in ways I don’t know about and haven’t approved.

    Exactly this. Plus, they make money off the information.

  26. 26.

    geg6

    August 19, 2013 at 7:35 am

    @raven:

    I’m just worn out already. The recent promotion really means I have no backup when I’m out or overwhelmed, so it all falls on me to get everyone’s student aid. Thank FSM that we’re one the smallest of the university’s campuses. At least the ratio is 900 students to one student aid officer and not 5000 or 450000 to one. Though those larger campuses have entire student aid departments and not just one person.

  27. 27.

    Adolphus

    August 19, 2013 at 7:36 am

    @Linda Featheringill:

    While you are there stop in at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. That is one kick ass museum and right next door to Temple. It is a natural history museum that hasn’t changed its exhibits since 1892 and is a national historic landmark. A museum of a museum indeed.

    And as its name suggest. It is free.

  28. 28.

    geg6

    August 19, 2013 at 7:39 am

    @Adolphus:

    Been there and I couldn’t agree more.

  29. 29.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 7:55 am

    @geg6: Record enrollment and record budget cuts for us for a decade, I’m sure you are in the same boat.

  30. 30.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 8:21 am

    @JPL: @geg6: yeah I was all in on the thread, but I too through with it all.

  31. 31.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 8:24 am

    Sitting here at mechanic getting my brakes checked, oil changed and “summer” inspection. Hope it nothing real expensive and something that can be done fairly quickly.

  32. 32.

    IowaOldLady

    August 19, 2013 at 8:35 am

    @Linda Featheringill: I hope all goes well for your daughter. That first year is the hard one. If she manages to hang on through that, she’s golden.

  33. 33.

    rikyrah

    August 19, 2013 at 8:42 am

    – – -☺@sherifffruitfly
    get detained at the airport i feel bad for you son – but i got 99 problems and using my spouse as a document mule ain’t one. LOL —

    — – -☺Charles Johnson
    ‏@Green_Footballs
    Has anyone noticed
    that Julian Assange is supporting the Australia First Party, an openly
    fascist group allied with Greece’s Golden Dawn?

    — -☺@Smartypants32
    @sherifffruitfly @NerdyWonka @BobCesca_Go Pretty soon we’ll be down to “I can bust that story in 3..2..1 minutes” LOL
    View conversation

    – — -☺@Smartypants32
    @JamesFallows @ioerror So now its overreach to detain & question someone who is traveling internationally with stolen classified documents?

  34. 34.

    MomSense

    August 19, 2013 at 8:52 am

    @rikyrah:

    I love sheriffruitfly, nerdywonka, and smartypants!!

  35. 35.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 8:52 am

    “@ZandarVTS: Bloomberg loses it at the WaPo op-ed page this morning over stop and frisk. http://t.co/4KLjBpZlrk “political correctness is deadly.””

    “@ZandarVTS: Seriously, Bloomberg’s argument on stop and frisk is “Blacks and Latinos commit all the crimes, so they’re the ones that get stopped.”

    “”@ZandarVTS: Seriously, Bloomberg’s argument on stop and frisk is “Blacks and Latinos commit all the crimes, so they’re the ones that get stopped.””

  36. 36.

    gene108

    August 19, 2013 at 9:00 am

    @rikyrah:

    that Julian Assange is supporting the Australia First Party,

    Considering he’s sought asylum to avoid extradition to fascist-human-rights-abuser Sweden to stand trial for sexual assault charges, are you surprised?

    Wikileaks is an interesting idea, but Assange is seems like a dick.

  37. 37.

    cleek

    August 19, 2013 at 9:05 am

    hardwood inspector said entire floor should be replaced; two weeks. dishwasher leaks; floor underneath is warped and moldy. hornet nest in attic refuses to go away. bathtub drains not working.

    house is 9 months old.

  38. 38.

    JPL

    August 19, 2013 at 9:05 am

    @lamh36: Ray Kelly has been spouting the same thing but the crime rate doesn’t really tell us anything. Is it okay to stop 100 people to find one carrying a joint? Is it okay to frisk 1,000?
    I tired of Kelly and Bloomberg spouting their bullshit..

  39. 39.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 9:06 am

    @cleek: Tried putting diesel in a spray can and dousing the nest?

  40. 40.

    cleek

    August 19, 2013 at 9:09 am

    @raven:
    well, a certain Talking Heads song has been running through my head for the past few days.

  41. 41.

    Poopyman

    August 19, 2013 at 9:12 am

    @cleek: It sounds like it should be the builder’s problem (not the hornets, though), and the price is getting up in the call-a-lawyer range.

  42. 42.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 9:13 am

    “@zseward: Bloomberg on stop-and-frisk: “If I had a son who was stopped, I might feel differently about it.” Alas. http://t.co/VZo5zpnlbU“

  43. 43.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 9:13 am

    @cleek: Did the leaking dishwasher cause the warping?

  44. 44.

    Poopyman

    August 19, 2013 at 9:13 am

    @cleek: And what’s a “hardwood inspector”? Somebody from the county/city?

  45. 45.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    August 19, 2013 at 9:16 am

    @cleek: Sounds like time to turn your insurance company loose on the builder.

    Release the (insurance) hounds!

    (I’m taken by a vision of boarhounds in green eyeshades.)

  46. 46.

    gogol's wife

    August 19, 2013 at 9:21 am

    @NotMax:

    I’m sorry, but Vic Mizzy died a while back.

  47. 47.

    gogol's wife

    August 19, 2013 at 9:22 am

    @geg6:

    You’re being too realistic. That means you’re an authoritarian bootlicker or something like that.

  48. 48.

    gogol's wife

    August 19, 2013 at 9:24 am

    @cleek:

    Oh, God, that is awful.

  49. 49.

    rikyrah

    August 19, 2013 at 9:24 am

    @lamh36:

    Bloomberg needs to keep it up.

    I’ll ask again…

    How the fuck can a program with a 2% success rate BE CALLED A SUCCESS?

    THEY SAID the point of Stop and Frisk was to find GUNS

    if you only find guns 2% of the time..

    HOW THE FUCK IS THE PROGRAM A SUCCESS?

  50. 50.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 9:25 am

    @geg6: Hilary Clinton will save us of course

  51. 51.

    cleek

    August 19, 2013 at 9:29 am

    @raven:
    yep. looks like the front seal went bad – long before i noticed it.

    @Poopyman:

    And what’s a “hardwood inspector”? Somebody from the county/city?

    not a govt employee, but it’s someone who is certified to inspect floors. for ex. when it comes to taking your builder to court for a floor issue, you need an inspection from one of them – in NC anyway.

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:

    Sounds like time to turn your insurance company loose on the builder.

    we’re just about there.

  52. 52.

    cleek

    August 19, 2013 at 9:30 am

    fuck moderation.

  53. 53.

    NickT

    August 19, 2013 at 9:34 am

    @rikyrah:

    I think it’s pretty obvious at this point that Bloomberg just wanted to keep less than full cream folks out of the enclaves of the more perfectly white and economically more prosperous. He’s overseen, not entirely coincidentally, a massive rise in income inequality in New York, which ought to disqualify him and his pet “news” channel from being taken seriously or even respected by anyone with any sort of decency or concern for competent, honest government.

  54. 54.

    NickT

    August 19, 2013 at 9:34 am

    @cleek:

    Extremism in the defense of moderation is no Vice….

  55. 55.

    MomSense

    August 19, 2013 at 9:36 am

    @PurpleGirl: @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:

    The low rise, longs work really well on me except that the finishes in jeans for juniors are not exactly appropriate. I sometimes think that designers of mass merchandise are either making clothes for strippers or grandmothers and I am neither.

  56. 56.

    Belafon

    August 19, 2013 at 9:38 am

    On Thursday the wife and I will be taking our oldest son to start his college career. Now we get to see if the struggling with a smart, yet not always focused, kid has at least pounded some lessons in his head.

  57. 57.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    August 19, 2013 at 9:39 am

    @Poopyman: Independent inspector with a specialized background in wood flooring. It’s such a big ticket item that you want an expert checking installations and evaluating problems.

  58. 58.

    jayboat

    August 19, 2013 at 9:40 am

    Norm has it going on. The only thing that photo lacks is a cat-sized beer.

  59. 59.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 9:41 am

    @MomSense: We went to the UGA Art Museum to see a friends work and an exhibit of Ann Bonfoey Taylor’s stuff was there. I’d never heard of her but it was interesting that she was from Qunicy, Illinois. Not exaclty Parreee!

  60. 60.

    cleek

    August 19, 2013 at 9:50 am

    (ok, fine… .without links)
    @raven:
    yep. looks like the front seal went bad – long before i noticed it.

    @Poopyman:
    And what’s a “hardwood inspector”? Somebody from the county/city?

    not a govt employee, but it’s someone who is certified to inspect floors. when it comes to taking your builder to court for a floor issue, you need an inspection from one of them – in NC anyway.

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
    Sounds like time to turn your insurance company loose on the builder.

    we’re just about there.

  61. 61.

    MomSense

    August 19, 2013 at 9:52 am

    @raven:

    So cool! I would totally rock one of those floor length capes if only I had somewhere to wear them!

  62. 62.

    The Red Pen

    August 19, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Wingnut QOTD (from some douche named Bob Lonsberry):

    And [Hillary Clinton is] running for whatever you call a woman president.

    I think the word you’re looking for is “president,” Bob.

    The article is about how stupid the Republicans are for snubbing CNN and NBC in debate coverage. Heck, if a celebrated Republican “journalist” feels comfortable popping out sentences like this in 2013, then I agree: give these douches as much exposure as possible.

  63. 63.

    Chyron HR

    August 19, 2013 at 10:02 am

    @lamh36:

    Silly Zandar, blacks and latinos don’t have rights. Only packets of cellular telephony metadata have rights.

  64. 64.

    Belafon

    August 19, 2013 at 10:02 am

    @geg6:

    And in regard to the last post by Cole, I just can’t get excited over this NSA stuff. It doesn’t and probably never will affect me.

    I try not to have that attitude because there have been times throughout history where the right person in place can make it about everyone. At the same time, the rest of your point is pretty relevant. Does anyone here believe that their nickname here is keeping anyone – the government, a corporation, a private citizen – from finding out exactly who they are? The moment you decided to visit left a trail that could be followed back to you if someone wanted to. Most of us just lead the kinds of lives that would put the NSA analysts to sleep.

    I could write a long essay about my complicated relationship with all of this: The process needing to be more open, how it’s basically impossible to do anything with the data until you know exactly what you are looking for (the story of how they found the woman sending the ricin to Obama and Bloomberg is very telling), it’s time to end the war on terror, it would help if we allowed some of this type of data collection for a number of things (epidemic detection if we allowed aggregation of medical visits for instance), and getting people to understand that nothing is perfect and even with some of this stuff, bad stuff is still going to happen. But I can’t write it at work for one thing.

  65. 65.

    Belafon

    August 19, 2013 at 10:06 am

    @The Red Pen: I’m pretty sure in his mind the word for “black president” is butler.

  66. 66.

    Randy P

    August 19, 2013 at 10:07 am

    How much should I worry about a 7-foot boa constrictor who is loose in my neighborhood? The owner says it lives with cats and normally eats rats, so assures the neighbors that there’s no danger to, for instance, our 10 pound kitty.

    This is apparently the second time it’s gotten loose. He lets it sun itself in the yard and then he goes to check on it and OOPSIE!

  67. 67.

    lojasmo

    August 19, 2013 at 10:08 am

    Day three in an ad-hoc road trip from Portland to Minneapolis with a guy who talks nonstop, and has absolutely no sense of motivation.

    I had been banking on playing loud music, but the radio is nonfunctioning. The AC also doesn’t work. The trip across the rest of Montana and North Dakota should be intermidable.

    Good times.

  68. 68.

    lojasmo

    August 19, 2013 at 10:12 am

    @Randy P:

    A 7 foot boa could EASILY eat a small cat.or dog

  69. 69.

    drkrick

    August 19, 2013 at 10:14 am

    @Belafon: In NYC, the term for an AA mayor was “washroom attendant”, so butler probably scales about right for them.

  70. 70.

    shelly

    August 19, 2013 at 10:15 am

    “Last thought, what do Cole and all his hysterical libertarian buddies propose we do about all this?”
    *******

    About what, Norm the cat?

    In that pic, I first thought he had wire wrapped around his stomach. Then realized those were furry fat rolls.

  71. 71.

    lojasmo

    August 19, 2013 at 10:16 am

    @geg6:

    Pretty sure you have signed disclosure agreements with amazon, and google (if you are a registered gmail user)

  72. 72.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    August 19, 2013 at 10:16 am

    @Belafon:

    Does anyone here believe that their nickname here is keeping anyone – the government, a corporation, a private citizen – from finding out exactly who they are?

    Anyone who can get their hands on the server logs or the user datatable that links nicknames to email addresses can track any one of us back. Without the IP address or the email address, it would take quite a bit more work.

    Me, I just don’t want my lefty snark coming up should my wingnut employer get paranoid enough to google me.

    I have no illusions that I’m hiding from anything more than a casual search. I have friends in the computer forensics biz. I know how easy it is to uncover someone’s electronic tracks.

    @Randy P: The owner is seriously overestimating the snake’s intelligence, IMO. Prey-sized mammals are going to look like prey to the snake. It’s not likely to differentiate.

  73. 73.

    NickT

    August 19, 2013 at 10:18 am

    @Randy P:

    There was a recent case of an African rock python that got loose and strangled two small boys as they slept. I’d say that was grounds for concern.

  74. 74.

    The Moar You Know

    August 19, 2013 at 10:21 am

    How much should I worry about a 7-foot boa constrictor who is loose in my neighborhood? The owner says it lives with cats and normally eats rats, so assures the neighbors that there’s no danger to, for instance, our 10 pound kitty.

    This is apparently the second time it’s gotten loose. He lets it sun itself in the yard and then he goes to check on it and OOPSIE!

    @Randy P: Erm, your cat is in danger. A ten pound kitty is right in that critter’s predatory sweet spot.

    As to “letting it sun itself in the yard”, that’s just a flat-out asshole move by the owner, right on up there with walking around with a loaded AR-15 or parading your unleashed pit pull at a kid’s birthday party.

    Depending on your locale, I’d either call animal control or shoot it on sight. Don’t let the owner have it back.

  75. 75.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 10:22 am

    @MomSense: Didn’t look like that was an issue for her!

  76. 76.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 10:22 am

    good morning.

    been at the mechanic almost 2 hours. my brakes have been slow for awhile so I’m finally getting it looked at. Also getting oil change. worse thing is that I don’t have anyone to come and pick me up and bring me back while I wait…ugh!

    I’m looking at my car up on the stocks(?) now & I’m trying to use my Jedi mind tricks to get something done quickly.

    thankfully I was the 2nd person here and the only other person dropped off their car. several people have come in since.

    it’s times like these that I hate being single & having no one to call to pick me up or come with me to drop off the car. funny enough I had friends in DFW who were available to come get me. here in BR I have basically no one

    le sigh, thank goodness for my IPad & free wifi.

  77. 77.

    ericblair

    August 19, 2013 at 10:22 am

    @NickT:

    There was a recent case of an African rock python that got loose and strangled two small boys as they slept. I’d say that was grounds for concern.

    There was an article in the main Canadian weekly newsrag about it, and a couple of herpetologists were calling bullshit on the whole situation (like, these pythons bite their prey before constricting which didn’t seem to happen, and they’re not going to just leave their prey without eating it). So the plot could thicken here.

  78. 78.

    NotMax

    August 19, 2013 at 10:22 am

    @lojasmo

    The trip across the rest of Montana and North Dakota should be intermidable.

    ‘Twas ever thus. There’s never a wormhole around when you really need one.

  79. 79.

    Randy P

    August 19, 2013 at 10:27 am

    @The Moar You Know: The police know. He reported it to them around Day 4 (now on Day 7) and they reported it to the local press. that’s how the neighbors found out. The statements I quoted were from things he said to reporters in news articles.

    The police also say there’s no law against exotic pets here.

  80. 80.

    raven

    August 19, 2013 at 10:28 am

    @lamh36: Shouldn’t take that long if they are just checking the brakes. If they are discs it takes about ten seconds. If they have to put new pads (discs) it may take longer. Have you been getting a chirping sound? Lots of disc brakes have an insert that makes a noise BEFORE they wreck the rotors.

  81. 81.

    PurpleGirl

    August 19, 2013 at 10:28 am

    @MomSense: Back in late 1970s and early 1980s, Gloria Vanderbilt was designing jeans and the ones she did for large-juniors fit me perfectly. Of course after a few years, the company stopped making them…

  82. 82.

    NickT

    August 19, 2013 at 10:29 am

    @ericblair:

    I’ve seen an article where experts expressed surprise, but it’s not an unparalleled situation, sadly:

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/08/05/f-snake-python-sales-ownership-risks.html

    In the meantime, the shocking attack has baffled even snake experts.

    “It’s strange, I’m just trying to piece it together,” says Lee Parker, the facilities manager at Ontario reptile zoo Reptilia. “They don’t go on killing sprees … it doesn’t make sense to me.”
    Jeff Reynolds, manager at the Reptile Store in Hamilton, says: “The [African rock python] is not overly aggressive, not any more aggressive than your larger-type snake. I find it very bizarre that it would attack two [kids].”
    Such deadly attacks aren’t unheard of, but are rare.
    The last attack on a human by an African rock python was in 2002, when it killed and swallowed a 10-year-old boy in Durban, South Africa. Three years earlier, a smaller rock python killed a three-year-old boy after escaping its enclosure in Centralia, Ill.

    I’ll admit that my knowledge of Python is exclusively computer-related, rather than herpetological, but it certainly doesn’t seem like a smart move for the guy to let his critter out to sun itself unsupervised. Mind you, he’s just an amateur compared to these folks:

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/08/16/pythons-motel-brantford.html

  83. 83.

    The Red Pen

    August 19, 2013 at 10:31 am

    @gene108:

    Assange seems like a dick.

    …and when Benedict Cumberbatch is done, we’ll all love him for it.

  84. 84.

    Gene108

    August 19, 2013 at 10:31 am

    @NickT:

    What is Mayor Bloomberg’s “pet news” channel?

    Bloomberg news agency is very good at business reporting. The TV network stays well clear of the political commentary on CNBC.

  85. 85.

    NickT

    August 19, 2013 at 10:35 am

    @Gene108:

    I refute your Bloombergian defense thus:

    http://www.bloomberg.com/blogs/view/megan-mcardle/

  86. 86.

    The Red Pen

    August 19, 2013 at 10:35 am

    @Belafon:

    Does anyone here believe that their nickname here is keeping anyone – the government, a corporation, a private citizen – from finding out exactly who they are?

    Well, my email address contains my real name, a domain that’s registered to me and I’m posting from a DOD computer. So do your worst, NSA!!!

  87. 87.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 10:35 am

    Ok. My car needs alot of repairs. I cannot afford it all. Its gonna take me some time. It’s basically a walking malfunction waiting to happen…lol. That’s what happens when u don’t keep up on maintainence.

    So no more driving my car except to and from work. If it comes to it I guess ill have to start walking to work. Thank goodness I work so close

    It is what it is.

    A Life Lived N Fear Is A Life Half-lived

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    August 19, 2013 at 10:38 am

    @The Moar You Know

    As to “letting it sun itself in the yard”,

    Eep. Sunbathing without a stitch.

    A Full Monty Python?

    (Think I may have pulled a muscle reaching for that one.)

  89. 89.

    Amir Khalid

    August 19, 2013 at 10:38 am

    Is a male cat humiliated if he gets mistaken for a pregnant female?

    @Randy P:
    I think you should worry a lot. I wouldn’t trust a python’s good intentions in the matter of not eating fellow pets of its own household, let alone the pets of other households. I think you should also inform the local animal control and/or constabulary about this neighbour of yours, who is keeping a potentially dangerous animal but doesn’t seem bothered to properly control it.

  90. 90.

    JPL

    August 19, 2013 at 10:39 am

    @lamh36: Oh, I’m so sorry about your car.

  91. 91.

    Another Holocene Human

    August 19, 2013 at 10:41 am

    I am officially a convert to the Cult of Inspector Lewis. To all those who throw over Lewis for Hathaway, you drool and Lewis rules. I love Hathaway too (like Spock w/o the cruel streak) but Lewis is awesome. I’ve been watching old Inspector Morse eps, which are trainwreck awful (but not as bad as early 80s BBC like Tommy&Tuppence or that execrable Marple series) and my favorite moments are when Lewis says something cheeky to his boss. Oh, and contra the Morse code end credits music (groan), more like Inspector Morose, amirite?

    My wife just about died at the scene where Lewis declares “The first shall be last and the last shall be first,” and when Morse patronizingly asks him what he supposes that means Lewis says, “I reckon it means one day I shall be the chief inspector and you’ll be the sargeant.”

    Netflix instant play has a couple of seasons of Inspector Lewis (which is the perfect escapism, damnit!) and the current season is on [censored censored] but I can’t find the first three or four series anywhere. Any suggestions?

  92. 92.

    MomSense

    August 19, 2013 at 10:46 am

    @cleek:

    I am so sorry. Go talk to a lawyer and insurance company!!

  93. 93.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    August 19, 2013 at 10:46 am

    @NickT: It’s the lack of a bite mark that makes me go “hmm”. That and that it’s two kids and a snake that is a little on the small side to kill both at once.

    I’d love to see the examiner’s report, because I would expect cause of death from the scenario described to be crushing injuries, not asphyxiation.

  94. 94.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    August 19, 2013 at 10:54 am

    On a much more cheerful note:

    “Genetics Are Awesome” uses an ingenious split-screen effect to show how heritable traits get passed down.

  95. 95.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    August 19, 2013 at 10:54 am

    @Another Holocene Human: I kinda miss the old spelling, which I had figured was intentional and witty.

    If anyone would like to send a couple bucks to a good cause in Ohio, there’s a Team Bella Q. Happy week everybody.

  96. 96.

    Paul in KY

    August 19, 2013 at 10:57 am

    @cleek: Throw 3 or 4 foggers up into attic (turned on, of course). If that doesn’t kill all of them, it should put the whack on enough that you can go up & kill the remains.

  97. 97.

    Paul in KY

    August 19, 2013 at 11:00 am

    @Randy P: 7 foot boa constrictor. Lot of good meat on one that size.

  98. 98.

    Gene108

    August 19, 2013 at 11:04 am

    @lamh36:

    I go through that now. My car is ten years old. I cannot afford a replacement.

    There are OMG fix it now, so I do not break down repairs and the ” oil leak you say around the timing chain tensioner? Is it a bad leak or how long can I get by with a quart of oil and checking the dip stick regularly?” repairs.

  99. 99.

    NotMax

    August 19, 2013 at 11:06 am

    @Paul in KY

    Takes some doin’ to rustle up a 7-foot bun.

  100. 100.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2013 at 11:12 am

    @lamh36:

    Depending on what the route to work is like, it might be worth borrowing a bicycle or buying a cheap one from Craigslist. If you work at a hospital, sometimes they’ll even give you rewards for a “healthy commute.”

  101. 101.

    rdldot

    August 19, 2013 at 11:13 am

    @rikyrah: Exactly. If you are stopping 100 people and only finding 2 that did something, it’s not them. It’s you – UR DOIN IT RONG!

  102. 102.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 11:15 am

    @JPL: @raven:
    Its not that the repairs are expensive, individually they are ok. But all at once is just more than I currently have within my power to pay. Gonna take me a little time that’s all. Until then I’ll need to be more frugal with my driving & my spending.

    Repairs: New Tires (old one have almost no traction), Brakes (new master cynlinder due to soft/spongy pedal, & std brake pad replacements), factory maintenance (fuel system, coolant system, ignitikn parts). All of which I can get done but I need a bit more money than I have right now. It is what it is.

    A Life Lived N Fear Is A Life Half-lived

  103. 103.

    Mnemosyne

    August 19, 2013 at 11:18 am

    @lamh36:

    They’re not going to let you take the car without getting the brakes fixed because that’s a safety issue, so that’s going to have to be done today. You might be able to find someplace cheaper for tires. The other stuff can probably wait a bit.

  104. 104.

    Paul in KY

    August 19, 2013 at 11:19 am

    @NotMax: True dat ;-)

  105. 105.

    lamh36

    August 19, 2013 at 11:24 am

    @Mnemosyne: the main problem with my area is that there is a lot of construction going on, so therr are literally NO sidewalks or bike paths. I would gladly walk to work, but I go so early in the morning and without any sidewalks or pedestrian walkways that Im likely to get hit or run over just crossing the intersection

  106. 106.

    jayboat

    August 19, 2013 at 1:44 pm

    @lamh36:
    Get the brakes fixed NOW. Front pads only if that’s all you can afford.
    and they are relatively easy to install, maybe you could cook dinner for a friend who’s handy with that sort of thing.
    Are you losing brake fluid? If not, the soft spongy feel is due to the worn pads.
    Buy a used tire for twenty bucks to replace the bad one.

    you should be driving in fear if you’ve got bad brakes and bad rubber. two things that should never be put off.
    screw the factory maintenance- get your oil and filter changed at jiffy lube and put a gallon of antifreeze in the radiator yourself.

  107. 107.

    J R in WV

    August 19, 2013 at 4:43 pm

    @debbie:

    @geg6:

    When you first use any commercial web site, like Amazon or Google, you click on a link that says “I have read and agree to the terms and conditions BigBadCompany imposes on users of their web site!” They get to use your data for anything, especially if the government requires something of them .

    Sometimes it’s hard to find those conditions, and many companies (PayPal, Yahoo, eBay and Amazon in particular) are famous for changing those terms and conditions without any real notice.

    But you have the choice NOT to use Amazon, or PayPal. You only stay out of the NSA’s database if you never use electronic or US Mail to communicate or conduct business.

    If you do all of your shopping at Krogers and pay cash, and Sears for clothes and tools and appliances, and pay cash, then you can stay off their radar, which will attract their notice, because who does that? People with something to hide!

    We’re posting here, which IDs us all as potential trouble makers, because we have and share opinions.

    JR

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